War and Worship: The drivers of social unrest in multi-ethnic states

@mastersthesis{radic2025,
  title = {War and Worship: The drivers of social unrest in multi-ethnic states},
  author = {Radic, Maya},
  year = {2025},
  keywords = {Social unrest, multi-ethnic states, geopolitics, Religion, Ethnicity},
  abstract = {Conflicts in multi-ethnic states can vary in their degrees of severity from protest to civil war or state dissolution. Though it can be attested that ethnic and religious differences fuel conflict, there are a multitude of variables that contribute to social unrest. In this paper, three case studies of Yugoslavia, Lebanon, and Switzerland are examined using the comparative historical method in order to determine what drives social unrest in multi-ethnic states in some cases rather than others. The analysis of four independent variables of economic disparity, foreign intervention, religious presence in government, and cultural distinctness show that the true drivers of social unrest are much more complex than purely sectarian divides. Since these variables vary in degree of relevance and strength to each case, it can be concluded that the true drivers of social unrest are highly interwoven and complex, with no one variable being the sole spark of outbreaks of unrest. The final conclusion is that foreign intervention and economic disparities play a significant role in spurring violence, though cultural distinctness and religious presence in government also have a hand in contributing to conditions necessary for unrest.},
  language = {English},
}